Wahoo Kickr + Zwift

To ZWIFT or not to ZWIFT?

To start off I hate indoor cycling. It’s boring and it feels nothing like the real thing. You don’t go anywhere. It’s boring. You can’t feel the wind or the sun. It’s boring. You get too sweaty. I hate it.

I tried Zwift and found it dull. I then started to look at the training rides and found this better as I had an aim and target to meet/complete.

Then we were forced to ride inside by COVID19. I started to explore more of what Zwift had to offer and started joining in group rides with Rapha and other random events. I found this to be more entertaining. Something to ride for other than just turning the pedals because it was horrid/dangerous outside.

Riding with the founder of Rapha!

It will never beat cycling outside and I am not sure if I agree with there being UCI sanctioned races either. But I don’t have to do it and if others enjoy it, fine with me!

I did however really enjoy it when we couldn’t be outside and now find the training regimes very useful for keeping up fitness if you can’t be outside.

Arriving at the top of Alp du Zwift!

Wahoo now offer a whole host of gadgets to replicate cycling outside even a mountain climber?!?!? and wind machine synced in with Zwift. The Vegan Cyclist has done a great video on this stuff here.

When I first got my Wahoo Kickr I was worried about my expensive carbon fibre frame breaking. There are various youtube videos on how to make sure your bike is connected properly (don’t use the Wahoo one!)

Riding with Le Col and Bradley Wiggins

In a nutshell as long as everything is fitted correctly and tight you can’t break it unless you're being silly with it. You have to change your sprinting technique which means don’t swing the bike from side to side. I found some really good tips on ZWIFTINSIDER and a good one to note if your keeping the bike on the trainer for extended periods is to move the front wheel around so that the same spokes don’t always take your weight. Have a look here.

The Wahoo Kickr is simple to set up and can be used with road and mountain bikes with either quick release or through axles. I found that my wheel was not sitting in the middle of the roller. This was easily fixed with an extra washer on the quick release to balance this off.

If your new to Zwift Cycling Weekly has done a great introduction here.